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Calder Vale

Calder Vale, despite its remote and beautiful setting is very much a working village and you can still hear the clatter of the weaving looms when the mill is working. There is little else to spoil the peace and tranquillity as there is no through road! Quakers Jonathan & Richard Jackson founded Calder Vale after surveying the area and observing that the site could be well served by water power. Their concern for the welfare of workers and their families led to workers' houses being built with gardens. In 1835 the Lappet mill was built. It was used to weave cotton and is still used today even though the River Calder no longer provides the power. The vast majority of mills have long since closed but the Lappet mill has survived by specialising in the production of Arab headdresses. Built by public subscription the Calder Vale church stands between Calder Vale and Oakenclough. Consecrated on August 12th 1863 and dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, the church contains a fine stone pulpit in memory of W.J. Garnett of Quernmore Park who gave the site.